It's Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus
by Evil Sprinkle
Summary: It's Caroline's first Halloween in Mystic Falls. She's young, drunk and her new friends have just filled her in on the 'Legend of the Mikaelson Witches'. They soon find out there's more to the Legend than just rumours when Caroline accidentally awakens three dead witches. Three ancient witches and a free house for the entire weekend. Caroline gets more than she bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a warped imagination and a weird sense of humour.**

**A/N:**_** This has been clogging up my brain for way too long and I need to at least get the the start of it out there. It's loosely based on Hocus Pocus - very loosely. The 'Old English' that's to come probably won't be accurate, so sorry for that and I've tried to keep everyone in character, but they'll probably wander out a few times...anyway, hope you like it!**_

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**Chapter 1**

It's Halloween and Caroline Forbes is drunk, no not drunk, tipsy. She's seventeen, tipsy and has enough hairspray in her overly backcombed hair to freeze a small army, but she's having the time of her life at her best friends—and twin sisters—Elena's and Katherine's Halloween party. She moved to Mystic Falls, Virginia around seven months ago, fearing she wouldn't make any friends and would end up spending most of her time alone. On her first day of school she was so nervous she was almost sick and protested against going. Her mom wasn't having any of it of course and forced her to go, but it was the best thing Caroline had ever been forced in to. She hates to admit it, but without her pushy mom, she wouldn't have made friends with the amazing people she's partying with.

She grins to herself and looks towards her best friends Lexi and Bonnie who've been in some form of heated argument for the past hour. Caroline isn't entirely sure what they're discussing, but Lexi's arms are flailing all over the place and her voice is raised. Bonnie on the other hand is pouting like a petulant child and trying to out-shout Lexi. It really isn't working.

"Why can't you just believe it's not some made up story? It's the honest truth, it really happened!" Bonnie yells, standing on her tiptoes to point in Lexi's face. The overly large hat on her head comes undone once more and falls in front of her eyes. She huffs and lifts it up.

When they came to pick Caroline up, the stupidly large thing had been secured to Bonnie's hair with numerous clips and pins. Caroline—excited and slightly giddy—had snatched the hat from Bonnie's head, placing it on her own so she could wear it and cackle loudly. Since then, despite Elena's attempts to re-secure it, it's refused to remain in place. "There's no way we can go up there, it'll anger the spirits of the dead witches!"

Lexi scowls and waves her hand around in her superstitious friends face. "It's just a stupid Urban Legend, Bonnie." She laughs and turns to Caroline, waving her alcohol bottle filled hand around and spinning froth on the tiles of Katherine's and Elena's parents kitchen. "This is Caroline's first Halloween in town, Bennett. We need to pull out all the stops and make this a night she'll _never_ forget."

"Heck yes!" Caroline calls enthusiastically. "I want this to be the best night ever…well at least until our next party comes round." She adds, taking a step forward and clinking her own bottle against Lexi's. "So, where are we going?" she questions, grinning excitedly at Lexi who wraps an arm around her neck.

"The Mikaelson Cottage." Lexi says in a voice worthy of a horror movie and grins menacingly at Bonnie who pouts and shakes her head in disapproval, the witches hat falling down and covering her eyes. She blows out a breath and lifts her arm to push it up, elbowing Matt in the ribs as he goes to pass.

"Watch it witchy," he chuckles, rubbing his ribs and placing Bonnie's hat back on the top of her head. "Am I hearing things or did someone mention the Mikaelson Cottage?"

"Well aye, that's what I be sayin' laddie!" Lexi cackles, putting on her best pirate voice and squeezing her arm a little tighter round Caroline's neck, causing her to choke slightly. "We're gonna take Caroline to see some real ghosts!"

Matt rolls his eyes and folds his arms across his chest, leaning back against the kitchen counter. "Is that _really_ so?"

Caroline grins and nods excitedly before looking towards Lexi. "What's the Mikaelson Cottage?"

"Seriously?" Lexi blinks rapidly and Katherine who's seemingly appeared from nowhere snorts. "You don't know the story?"

Caroline is still grinning widely as she shakes her head, her hair flying across her face and smudging the fake blood. "I _am_ new here, I didn't grow up around all this stuff."

"You've been here for like seven months." Matt exclaims, pulling himself up to sit on the counter. "I can't believe you haven't heard something already."

"You guys have practically held me hostage since I got here, I haven't exactly had time to research the Legends of Mystic Falls."

"Hostage? Please." Lexi scoffs loudly, "You've been loving our company. We're the best people you could ever hope to meet."

"Okay, as you're the best people, are you gonna tell me the story or not?" she looks expectantly towards Lexi who's face lights up like Christmas has come early. Caroline can tell the excitable blonde loves nothing more than telling the tale of the ghost story to anyone who asks about it or is willing to listen.

"Yeah Lexi, tell the story." Elena says as she walks into the room, pulling herself up onto the counter beside Matt and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay so," Lexi says, leaning against Caroline a little and waving her bottle around as she starts to set the scene. "There was this witch years ago called Eliza Mikaelson right, and—"

"Esther Mikaelson." Katherine corrects as she hops up onto the table and crosses her legs.

Elena pipes up, "You've told this story like a million times and you always get her name wrong. I don't understand it, we've corrected you so many times yet still never manage to get it right."

Lexi waves her arm around, spilling more beer onto the floor. "Whatever, her name really isn't the point."

"It's really disrespectful though, she'll hear you and she'll—" Bonnie pips up from the corner where she's sat on a stool, picking absentmindedly at the label on her beer bottle.

"Bennett, am I telling this story or are you?" Lexi scolds. Bonnie snaps her mouth shut and Katherine mutters 'you unfortunately' before ruffling her curly hair.

"Fine then, so there's this old witch called _Esther_," Lexi puts emphasis on the name, ignoring the glare Katherine shoots her. "And she came here from Salem or whatever it's called, y'know the place where the witch hunts were going on. She wanted to avoid being detected and stuff."

Caroline nods and takes a swig from her bottle, hanging on to Lexi's every word.

"Right anyway, so she moves into this cottage on the outskirts of town located right in the centre of the old forest. The place is secluded and she thinks it's safe so she brings her two nieces with her—"

"They could have been her granddaughters," Bonnie interrupts. " I heard they were her granddaughters because her daughter was caught in the witch trials and she had to look after them."

"They were her daughters, actually." Katherine corrects in a matter-of-fact tone and pokes her tongue out at Bonnie.

Lexi glares and casts them both a sickly sweet smile. "Nieces, granddaughters, daughters, cousins, neighbours, what-the-hell-ever, it's not really that important."

"But you need to tell the story right, otherwise what's the point? If you're not going to get the facts right you might as well have just made some random stuff up." Elena states, linking her arm through Matt's and snuggling into his side.

Lexi rolls her eyes and takes a gulp of her beer. "Anyway, they lived in the cottages for years and did loads of witchcraft and stuff." Lexi stops and takes a drink of beer before pausing and looking towards the floor.

Caroline raises an eyebrow and looks at Lexi sceptically. "And that's it?"

Lexi rolls her eyes again and takes another drink. "No Forbes, have patience, this story telling gives me dry mouth and I really need to burp." There's another pause before Lexi burps rather loudly. Everyone sighs but she doesn't pay them any attention and instead carries on her story. "So, they lived in this cottage for years and they never aged, like not even—"

"—How can she be an old witch if she never aged?" Bonnie asks smugly and Caroline can't help but giggle at the tinge of red that starts to glow in Lexi's cheeks. She isn't quite sure if it's from embarrassment or annoyance, but knowing Lexi she figures it's most-likely the latter.

"Screw the lot of you." Lexi snaps, removing her arm from Caroline's neck and downs the rest of her beer. "Y'know, I thought it would be nice if I told a story, but no, you lot just had to go and—"

"—Stop acting like a baby," Katherine says, leaning back and resting on her hands before turning her attention towards Caroline. "Basically, to cut a long story short, the towns folk found out about the witchcraft and one of the daughters—"

"Uh—" Lexi goes to interrupt but Katherine holds up a hand to '_Sshh_' her.

"—Or nieces were caught by one of the towns girls coercing with the Devil and they were all tried and hanged."

Caroline blinks, her mouth open ajar. "Tried and hanged?" she croaks, swallowing thickly. She brings a hand up to her throat and rubs it.

"Well back in those days it wasn't really much of a trial. All you needed was to own a black cat and have at least one wart and they'd be convinced you were a witch." Bonnie shrugs and pushes the hat back up from her eyes. "In fact, they probably just believed what the girl said, told them what they were being accused of, convicted them and then hanged them."

"So what you're all trying to say is that the place is haunted?" Caroline asks, looking around at her friends faces.

Katherine shrugs, jumps down from the table and takes the bottle from Caroline's hand. "That's what people say. I mean they're supposed to have died out there…on one of the trees right outside so if it's true, I guess it's possible."

"Only if you believe in ghosts." Lexi says sceptically. Katherine sticks her tongue out but flashes her a smile.

"Yes, only if you believe in ghosts—"

"—Which I strongly do," Elena pipes up. "I've felt a presence before at night."

"Was that not just Matt's hand under the covers?" Lexi snorts, popping open another bottle and taking a large drink.

"Shut up, Lexi."

"And you want to take me out there? On Halloween? When it's night?" Caroline questions towards Lexi who shrugs and leans her back against the refrigerator.

"If you're up for going, I'm game. This party is lacking and needs something to liven it up."

"Lex," Caroline says in a serious tone, walking forward and taking hold of her friends face. "That would be one of the nicest things anyone has done for me, like ever."

Lexi raises an eyebrow as Caroline pinches her cheeks and coos. "Forbes, you really haven't lived."

"So we're definitely going then?" Bonnie sighs, wringing her hands nervously together.

"Heck yes we are!" Lexi fist pumps the air before pointing in the direction of the door. "To the Mikaelson cottage me harties!"

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**Thanks for reading xo**

_**So…any takers? Let me know what you think! I probably won't update this for a while, I need to finish one of my other stories first (Baby Is This Love for Real?) but I've hit a complete mind block on it...if anyone could help with that just PM me, it would be much appreciated. Cheers M'dears! xo**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a warped imagination and a weird sense of humour.**

**A/N: _Enjoy!_**

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**Chapter 2**

"We're all gonna die," Bonnie says, tightening her grip on Katherine's hand. "We're all gonna die out here and they're gonna find our mutilated bodies weeks later, rotting and covered in maggots and my grams is never going to forgive you, ever."

Matt chuckles from in front where he has hold of Elena's hand who has hold of Katherine's other hand, leading the three girls through the trees. "You're such a pansy, you know that right?" he glances up at Lexi and Caroline who are just a few feet ahead of them, practically skipping through the trees in excitement. "Hey you two, wait up! Don't leave me babysitting on my own, you need to take some responsibility too!"

Katherine digs her nails into Elena's hand who digs her nails into Matt's in response. "Oww!" they both whine, lifting their hands to inspect the nail marks

"What did you do that for? I didn't say anything." Elena complains, casting her twin sister a glare.

"It was for you to pass on, you obviously understood the message because I didn't even need to ask."

Caroline snorts and laughs loudly, looking back at her squabbling friends before tripping over a large tree root and falling face first into the dirt. Instead of checking she's okay or making an attempt to help her up, Lexi drops to her knees, clutching her stomach and laughing hysterically. Caroline wipes her face on her dress, removing most of the fake blood and dirt.

She turns to her friend, punching her in the arm and lifts herself up from the ground, dusting down her costume as she squints at the outline of something ahead of them. "Is that it?" she questions, taking a few steps forward to get a clearer view.

Lexi's laughter comes to a halt as she crawls forward slightly and looks in the direction Caroline's pointing. She gulps loudly. Despite knowing the Legend, Lexi's never actually seen the cottage before, nor has she ever considered coming to look for it. In fact, she's never stepped foot within the gates that surrounded the forest.

"Yeah, that's the place." She replies and accepts the hand that Caroline offers, not letting go as they stand looking at the cottage and waiting for the others to reach them.

"You guys are real losers, y'know that right?" Matt rolls his eyes as he practically drags Elena towards the cottage. Katherine doing the same to Bonnie. "It's just an old cottage, we see them all the time. This one's no different really."

"Yeah," Caroline agrees, dropping Lexi's hand and grinning widely. "I'm the new one here, shouldn't _I_ be the one practically pooping myself?"

Bonnie makes a face and tugs her hand from Katherine's, wiping the excess sweat on her dress. "Look, I don't really want to do this and not because I'm scared okay, I just don't. But if you guys insist, can we please just get this over with already?"

Caroline looks over at Lexi who's smirking and nods her head. "Let's go then."

**~Inside~**

Caroline isn't exactly sure what she was expecting to see really, maybe something just a tad more eerie and stage worthy? A huge rusty cauldron half-full of the hardened remains of the last potion the witches were brewing, bats hanging from the ceiling, cobwebs, hundreds of half-melted candles, the untraceable meows of a black cat, shelves of jars containing pickled human organs and maybe even the odd bone on the floor.

The reality is entirely different.

There's a cauldron laying on its side in front of the fire, but it isn't filled with left over potion – in fact, apart from the dust it's pretty much spotless. There's plenty of cobwebs, but apart from that there isn't much else that screams 'witches lived here'. There's no real furniture in the room, just broken bits of wood all over the place and a few large crates, all of which are covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. Caroline shudders.

"You okay, Care?" Elena asks, chewing down on her bottom lip and glancing sideways at her friend.

"Spiders." Caroline swallows thickly before nodding and smiling as brightly as possible. "I'm good though as long as none of them land on me." She glances around, ensuring there's no cobwebs or large spiders anywhere near her.

Matt sighs loudly and walks further into the cottage, Elena still clinging to his hand and scanning the area as if someone's about to jump out at any second. Caroline's fairly certain that her friends fear of ghosts isn't the only reason she's refusing to let go of his hand.

The cottage itself is just one large room with an upper floor which hugs the outer edges and Caroline assumes some of the broken bits of wood once formed a ladder to get up there. There are three separate sections surrounding the room, each divided off with a low-slung archway. There's a cabinet at the back of the one nearest her containing some large jars and there's shards of glass on the floor from a broken window.

"Well," Bonnie says, standing nervously beside the door and twiddling her fingers together. "This has been really nice and everything but there's nothing here, so can we go now?"

"Bonnie," Lexi says, moving cautiously towards the large broken window at the far end of the cottage. "We've just got here, at least let me scare the hell out of you once before we go. Like you said, there's nothing here and if I don't have you running from this place to go cry to your grams, I won't feel satisfied."

Caroline laughs loudly as Bonnie scowls at the back of her friends head. "What's out there?" she questions as Lexi leans forward to look out the window, carefully avoiding the shards of glass sticking up from the bottom of the frame. It's really dark through, the moonlight blocked by the tall trees. As if reading her mind, Matt removes his phone from his pocket and sticks on the light, shining it directly out one of the holes in the window's dirty glass.

"Look at this." Lexi whispers loudly as she waves Caroline over to the window.

Caroline walks carefully, avoiding the debris on the floor and dodging the low hanging cobwebs. She walks up behind Lexi and stands on her tiptoes to peer over her shoulder. Her gaze falls down to where Lexi is signalling and her breath hitches.

There's _four_ long mounds in the ground just outside the window, each with a large blank headstone at the head. The grass covering the hills is patch and dead. Despite their strange appearance, Caroline knows exactly what she's looking at.

"Are they…" Caroline croaks despite already knowing the answer. A shiver runs down the length of her spine and goose bumps erupt over her skin.

"Yeah…" Lexi whispers and Caroline can't tell if she's genuinely creeped out or attempting to scare her. "The Mikaelson's. They hung them out here on that tree over there." Lexi points. Caroline hadn't even noticed it, but just a few feet away from the graves is a large tree. It's dead, the bark black as the night and there are no leaves. As she looks over it, it reminds her of something she'd expect to see a Tim Burton movie. "And buried them in their own backyard. Legend's say the towns people didn't want their evil to contaminate the cemetery."

"But there's four," Caroline comments, her brows knitted together.

"I guess the Legends have all been wrong." Katherine mutters right into Caroline's ear as she too peers out the window. Caroline jumps a little. "Easy, Forbes." She chuckles, flicking her curls over her shoulder before turning to walk back into the middle of the room.

Caroline swallows hard, her mouth suddenly becoming dry. "I can't believe they're still here…"

Matt presses his hand to Caroline's back as he attempts to get a look, causing her to jump and Lexi to snort-laugh. "Why wouldn't they still be here?" he questions in confusion.

"I don't know," Caroline shrugs, realising how stupid her question was. She steps away from the window, rubbing her hands over her arms as a chill runs right through her. "This place is like historical now, right? Do they not have laws to protect it and keep it in good condition or something?"

Lexi shrugs and wanders into the centre of the room as Matt looks out the window again. "The whole thing's more of a Legend than historical fact, I mean witches? A lot of people just don't believe in that stuff, not anymore."

"But the graves…you can't make something like that up, they're here! They're evidence." She points in the direction of the window to make her point.

"Not really. People claim this entire place was the set-up for an elaborate prank years ago that somehow got a little out of hand. There's no real evidence to support any of it." Matt states, turning his attention towards Caroline.

"Bu—the graves."

"They might just be empty mounds," Lexi reasons, "but no one really wants to go and dig around in what might or might not be a grave just to be sure it is what it seems to be…I mean would you want to go digging whatever could be under there up?"

"Well no, but there's technology."

"A lot of people don't believe the stories, but they also don't want to risk them being true. So to save a lot of hassle, people just don't come here. I mean if the entire thing is true and there's evil witches buried here, I don't think they'd take too kindly to people running a bunch of technology over their graves."

"I know…but people should be really curious and—" Caroline stops as her foot knocks up against something on the floor. She peers down, unable to see anyone but darkness. "Hey Matt, could you just shine that light at my feet for a second." Matt's turned back to the window but turns his phone all the same, brining the object into view.

A small black candle with honeycomb markings.

"Hey look," she reaches down and picks it up, holding it up in the moonlight coming from the front windows, " a funny looking candle."

The room falls silent and she looks up to see Matt, Elena and Lexi staring at her wide-eyed before looking at each other. Her eyes find Bonnie who's staring wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open as she backs towards the door.

"Um guys…you're kind of freaking me out a bit here." Caroline states, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"That's it, I'm out of here." Bonnie snaps quickly, making a break for the door, only to be stopped by Katherine.

"Bennett," Katherine laughs, holding on tightly to Bonnie's arm. "It's just a candle, it's not the—"

"—No, I don't care. That's just too much of a coincidence." Bonnie shakes her head lightly, her eyes focused on the candle in Caroline's hand as if it's about to suddenly transform into a monster or explode. "This wasn't funny to begin with but now it _really_ isn't funny."

"Uh, would someone care to explain? 'Cause if I'm holding this candle and it's like diseased or something, I'd really like to know about it." Caroline inquires nervously, looking to Katherine who seems to be the only one not staring at her like she's the insane one.

"The Black Flame Candle." Katherine says quietly, nodding towards the candle. Elena takes a step closer to Matt, pressing herself into his wide as she grips his hand just a little tighter. "It's just a stupid folk story and that's probably part of the prank too…" There's uncertainty in her friends tone as she narrows her eyes at the candle.

Caroline frowns at the candle in her hand and rubs her thumb over its dusty surface before sighing. To her it just looks like a normal candle, sure the choice of colour and texture's a little peculiar, but there's nothing about it that screams #I'm magic!'. "Okay, what's the story here then?"

"Apparently old Eliza…sorry, _Esther_," Lexi quickly corrects herself but Katherine doesn't seem to be paying much attention, "cast a spell on the candle right before they died. According to the Legend, if a virgin lights the candle on All Hallows Eve, the witches will rise up from their graves and seek revenge on the descendants of the towns people who wronged them, and here's the really spooky part, apparently the candle is ever burning, as long as the flame is protected, it'll never burn out."

"Really?" Caroline breathes out, her eyes still fixed on the candle as she continues to rub her thumb lightly over the black wax.

"Yeah," Lexi laughs before knocking her shoulder into Matt's. "Come on then Donovan, I wanna meet some dead witches."

Matt rolls his eyes and Elena strokes his arm affectionately. "Shut up, Lex."

Lexi then turns her attention to Caroline, bumping their shoulders together. "Give it a go Forbes, see if you can bring the old bats back from the dead."

Caroline looks up and makes a face as Katherine chuckles and Lexi smirks. "Even if it is true, what makes you think I'm a virgin?" she questions, already digging into her dress pocket for her trusty lighter.

"Uh, people…" Bonnie says shakily, edging closer to the group whilst looking around the room. "I don't think this a—"

Lexi ignores Bonnie Entirely. "Please, don't make me laugh Forbes, you're as innocent as they come, but if that's how you wanna play it, just how many lucky guys have you got frisky with then?" Lexi smirks, running her tongue across her upper lip, "or girls, whatever." She adds with a shrug as Matt raises his eyebrows and chokes slightly.

"Thousands." Caroline quips and flicks open her trusty bird lighter before sparking it, the orange flame flickers in the darkness.

"Caroline, seriously." Bonnie's voice is shaking more than ever and Caroline feels a little mean as she moves the flame closer to the wick.

"Bonnie," Caroline says, trying to ignore the nervous knot in the pit of her stomach and the slight shake in her hand as she moves the flame closer to the candle. "It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus."

There's an intake of breath as the wick lights with a hiss. Caroline holds the candle away from her, feeling somewhat let down when the flame remains a regular colour and the hissing quickly comes to a halt.

"I knew it." Lexi says, looking towards Bonnie, "All just a bunch of—" she stops mid-sentence, eyes widening as she stares at the flame. Everyone else follows her stare, quickly noticing that the flame is no longer a regular colour, or size – it's black, large, flickering away violently and emitting a loud hissing sound.

"No way…" Lexi mumbles, her eyes meeting Caroline's as they exchange a knowing look.

There's a scream as Bonnie suddenly flies forward, landing face first against the dusty floor, narrowly missing some shards of glass. Lexi's about to laugh and mock her clumsiness when the front door slams shut, causing the entire cottage to shudder. She meets Caroline's eyes once more as a loud rumble sounds, the entire room around them shaking. They simultaneously glance towards the ceiling as the rumbling gets louder. Is that from the sky? Caroline wonders, her train of through broken as the floorboards beneath her feet start to wobble violently, lifting up at the joins as a bright green light glows from beneath them.

Matt moves forward, helping Katherine pull a shaking Bonnie up from the ground, their faces pale and terrified as they dust her off. Lexi suddenly grabs onto Caroline's arm, lifting her up from the ground. Caroline hadn't noticed she was almost on her knees, every ounce of strength seemingly gone from her body.

"What the hell's going on?!" Caroline yells over the sounds of what she can only assume is the dead being dragged up from hell. The sound of cackles and screams echo loudly through the room, hurting Caroline's ears and before she knows what's going on, the entire floor rises, knocking them all to the ground. The rumbling, cackles and screams suddenly stop, the floorboards stop moving and the entire room is plunged into pitch-black silence.

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**Thanks for reading, the reviews, the favourites & the follows; it means a whole lot to me! Xo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a warped imagination and a weird sense of humour.**

**A/N: _Iyarr *waves*, I can't believe the response I've received, seriously it means the absolute world to me so thank you so much! Anyhoo, the witches have landed...well surfaced. The language probably isn't accurate for the time, but I think it adds character, besides, I'm not going for accuracy, this is just a bit of fun. _**

**_Anyhoo Enjoy!_**

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**Chapter 3**

"Caroline?" Elena's worried voice calls out from a direction she can't quite pin-point.

"Are you okay, Elena?" Caroline questions, throwing a hand out and grabbing someone's thigh.

"Um, Care, that's getting a little close to…" Matt says slowly as Caroline's hand seems to be edging its way up his thigh.

"Sorry," she mutters, quickly removing her hand. "Are you guys okay?"

"Who is there?" an unfamiliar voice calls out from the darkness and Caroline feels her chest tighten as her heart begins to beat so violently, she's fairly certain everyone in the room can hear it.

"Hello?" the voice comes again. "Is there someone there?"

Caroline hears breathing right beside her before a hand slips into her own and the scent of Matt's aftershave floats into her nostrils.

"Where art the lights? We art in need of light." Another unfamiliar voice calls out and it's then that Caroline realises something – the voices are male. Immediately her mind darts to deranged serial killers or gang members who've been hiding out in the cottage and are now going to cut them all into little pieces.

"Why yes, of course." The first voice says. There's a loud double clap, the room suddenly being illuminated by the fireplace and a bunch of candles in the corners of the room that Caroline hadn't noticed before due to the darkness. Her hands fly to her face as the sudden bright light burns her retinas. After blinking rapidly a few times to adjust, she stares at the owners of the voices.

Three boys.

They're tall, around about her age she assumes, although one does look older and the other younger and are dressed in what Caroline can only assume was the typical attire for the eighteenth century. It's only then that she realises, the boys aren't just boys – they're witches.

"Who art thou?" one of the boys inquires, frowning at Caroline and her friends, all of them sprawled across the floor, limbs entwined. He has dirty blonde hair, the slight curls tangled and dusty looking. His frill-necked shirt is open to his mid-torso, the ties across the gap frayed and his trousers look suitable for a pirate.

One of the other boys steps beside the first, his face expressionless. He looks older, his hair darker than the first boys and parted down the middle, but he's dressed almost exactly the same. The other boy looks younger, his brown hair extremely wild, sticking out at all angels and also covered in a layer of dust. Outfits aside, they'd look like regular boys, but one thing Caroline does notice is the long, ugly bruises ringing around their necks.

"Who art thou?" the fairer haired boy asks again before his eyes drift to the candle in Caroline's hand. "Oh," he says, eyes widening as the corners of his mouth begin to twitch. "Thou lit our candle?"

Caroline looks from the candle in her hand—the black flame still burning—then back to the strange boys standing side-by-side in front of her.

"Your candle?" Caroline croaks. She feels her friends shift next to her, their breaths rushed and ragged.

The fairer haired boy nods and rubs at the bruise on his neck. He swallows thickly and grimaces before he turns his attention back to Caroline, looking at her in a way that causes her stomach to tighten and her heart to skip a beat. She swallows and tells herself _no_, she certainly does not find the dead-witch-boy attractive.

"It has been some time," the oldest boy says, looking around the cottage, his brows furrowed and the corner of his mouth tugged down. "This place is in disarray."

The middle boy looks around at the room and frowns slightly before looking back to Caroline, his eyes narrowed. "Did thou do this?"

There's a resounding 'no' from them all as Lexi tugs Caroline to her feet, Matt helps Elena to hers and Katherine has to practically drag Bonnie up.

"No," Lexi repeats again, her voice shaking slightly as the grips Caroline's arm so tightly she's fairly certain they'll be a bruise there in the morning. "We um, we found it like this?"

The younger looking of the boys eyes Lexi up and down, the corners of his mouth tugging into a smirk as he licks his lips before glaring over at Matt.

The oldest boy bites his lip but nods. "Do tell," he says in a very formal but soft tone. "What is the year?"

Caroline looks down at the line at her friends and watches as Katherine swallows and says. "Two thousand and thirteen."

The boys eyes widen as they stare at her then each other.

"Two thousand and thirteen?" the youngest boy says, "Elijah, it has been—"

"Almost three-hundred years," the oldest boy—Elijah—says, running a hand through his dusty hair. They continue to stare at each other, facial expressions shifting ever so slightly, lost in some private silent conversation.

After what feels like an eternity of awkward silence, Matt clears his throat and steps forward, finally releasing Elena's hand. "Uh, excuse me?" he says, all three boys turning to look at him. "Hi," he gives a little wave. "We're sorry to have woke—um, disturbed you, we'll just be eh…going now."

As if in some kind of messed up comedy horror, the group all take a step towards the door but before they can take another, Elijah lifts his hand and says "No." all of them freezing, unable to move.

"Uh," Lexi says, holding onto Caroline's arm with one hand whilst using the other to tug at her own trouser leg. "I can't move my feet," she whispers.

"I am frightfully sorry." Elijah says and flicks his hand once more. Suddenly Caroline can feel herself falling forward, only to have Lexi pull her back upright. "My powers are somewhat rusty."

Caroline turns and stares, mainly at the middle boy. "You're witches."

He tilts his head to the side, "Yes." He answers as though it's the most obvious answer in the entire world and the teenagers in front of him were stupid not to be entirely aware.

"But you're…guys." Caroline blurts out, quickly realising how stupid she's starting to sound.

"Guys?" Elijah makes a face and turns to look at the other two. "Guys?" he repeats, brows furrowed. His siblings mimic his expression with a shrug.

"Boys," Caroline corrects herself. "Male. You know, not female."

The middle boy tilts his head to the side again, his brows knitting together as he looks at Caroline. "Why would we be female?"

"Uh," Caroline looks at Lexi who's starting back at her with wide eyes. "I uh, I dunno. The Legends said—"

"There are Legends about us?" the younger boy grins widely before turning to the other two. "Elijah, Niklaus, did thou hear that? There are Legends told of us!"

The now named Niklaus shrugs like he's over it already and moves around the room, touching parts of the brickwork and frowning at broken pieces of wood.

Elijah frowns too then looks towards Caroline. "What is it that they say of us?"

Caroline gulps and looks at Lexi again. "I don't know," she says shakily. "I just moved here." She can practically hear Lexi roll her eyes as she stands next to her, ready to take control.

"Well, we thought you were girls," she says, rubbing the back of her neck. "Um, and you live here with your aunt and you're witches. But I guess you're…wizards?" Caroline has to hold back a laugh as the word 'wizards' falls from Lexi's mouth.

Elijah frowns again and shakes his head. "Nay, that is false. I am not a lady."

"Oh yeah, I can _see_ that." Katherine practically purrs, her voice taking on a tone she saves for seduction purposes as she looks him up and down, her tongue curling up behind her teeth. "Uh, Elijah, isn't it?"

Elijah looks at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before he looks back to his siblings. "These are my younger brothers, Niklaus," the middle boy nods, "and Kol," the younger dips his head slightly, a devilish smirk playing on his lips as he looks towards Lexi.

Niklaus looks up and stalks over from where he's been picking at the fireplace. "Where is the book?" he questions, his tone stern and his eyes narrowed – mostly in the direction of Matt.

"B-book?" Matt croaks, gripping tightly onto Elena's hand again.

"My book." Niklaus confirms through gritted teeth.

"The boy must have it." Kol accuses, turning to give Niklaus a look.

"I don't have any book!" Matt shrieks, eyes connecting with Caroline's. "What's he talking about?"

Elijah sighs and pats Niklaus on the arm. "I do not believe he has thy book, brother. Thou can not just accuse people without proof – it is not fair."

Kol scoffs loudly. "They did it to us." He folds his arms over his chest and fixes them all with a look. "Thy lit out candle?" they all nod. "Give it back."

"Kol." Elijah scolds, swatting at his brothers chest. "Thou must not be so rude. These children were kind enough to bring us back, we must show them some courtesy."

Kol rolls his eyes and Caroline says, "Hey, we're not _children_."

Lexi smacks her arm, "Shut the hell up." She hisses through gritted teeth.

Elijah focuses his attention on Caroline and steps forward. "Thou appears to be badly injured." He lightly touches the fake blood on Caroline's arm, only to realise that it isn't real. "What is this?" he questions, rubbing the substance between his thumb and forefinger.

"Fake blood, it's uh, Halloween."

"Peculiar." Elijah states as he continues to rub the fake blood between his fingers until it dries. "This is what All Hallow' Eve has become."

Caroline nods and stares at the candle. She actually forgot for a moment that she was holding it. "Um, you want this back?"

Niklaus looks at the candle Caroline's holding and his jaw tenses slightly. "Yes, thank you." He says curtly, taking it from Caroline's hand and pacing back towards his older brother. He shoves it into a Elijah's hand and mutters a stern, "Do not let it go out."

"I am aware." Elijah states as he looks down at the candle before looking back up to Caroline and giving a curt nod of thanks. "So, it is the year two thousand and thirteen," he says out loud and they all nod. "And we have been gone almost three hundred years." They all nod again. "And now we are back." Another round of nods.

Niklaus is watching Caroline intently, causing the butterflies to wreak havoc in her stomach. Despite the dust and smell that seems to be emitting from him, she can't help but notice just how good looking he is. Button nose, intense blue eyes, pouty lips. In fact, all three of them are ridiculously good-looking.

"Yes," Elijah says, running a hand through his hair. "Yes."

"Uh," Lexi raises her hand in the air, capturing their attention. "You're not gonna like, eat us all or something are you?"

Elijah makes a face and brings his hand down. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know, seeking revenge on the descendants of the town that sentenced you to death…" she waves her hand around slightly. "No? Nothing?"

Elijah makes another disgusted face before he looks towards his younger brother who's winking in Lexi's direction and licking his lips. "Kol!" he warns, hitting him in the stomach.

"I see," Niklaus mutters, diverting his attention from Caroline and shaking his head. "We do not eat children – that was the Sanderson Sisters."

"Terrible women." Elijah comments.

"Though surprisingly beautiful." Kol adds, only to be hit by Elijah again.

"Oh," Lexi says, looking relieved and maybe just a little bit disappointed. "Well, that's…good."

Elijah bites the inside of his cheek and stares at them, "Thou," he states, nodding at Caroline who's breath hitches. "Thou lit the candle?"

Caroline nods and gives a small smile as all three boys turn their attentions to her.

"So you _are_ a virgin then?" Lexi questions in a smug tone. Caroline lets out a breath and blinks slowly.

"Is that so?" Niklaus inquires, his tone becoming low as a wolfish grin appears on his face. Caroline shrugs and nods, ignoring the clenching in her abdomen, the heat in her cheeks and the rapid beating of her heart. "I can remedy that…" he says, taking a step towards her but Elijah quickly grabs his arm and drags him back.

"Is thou a virgin also?" Kol questions, stepping towards Lexi with a devilish smirk on his face, only for Elijah to pull him back by his shirt, dragging his brothers into the corner and muttering something Caroline swears sounded like, "That is the reason we are in this Godforsaken mess."

Kol and Niklaus both frown, letting their heads hand down. "Apologies."

"Uh," Elena starts and Caroline can see her squeezing Matt's fingers. "We should…go?"

Bonnie and Matt nod whilst Katherine continues to 'inspect' Elijah. As Caroline looks at her friends, it's only then she realises just how petrified Bonnie looks. Amongst all the commotion and raising of dead witches, she'd forgotten how against the whole thing Bonnie was to begin with.

"Oh," Niklaus says, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Yeah," Lexi agrees, tugging Caroline along beside her. "Gotta get Care home, y'know?"

"Yes." Niklaus nods, his brows furrowing before he turns to Elijah and Kol.

Caroline frowns but allows herself to be tugged towards the door. She stops in the doorway and turns to look back at the three boys. She feels a tug in the pit of her stomach as she watches Kol bring a hand up to his own neck, fingers lightly tracing the ringed bruise there.

"Care?" Caroline can hear Matt's voice but ignores him as she watches Niklaus pace off around the room, bending down to touch broken pieces of wood, frowning and muttering to himself. Elijah stands off to the side, cradling the candle close to him whilst Kol scans the room looking lost.

"Guys," Caroline says, turning back to her friends. She can see Bonnie is already on the edge of the trees, looking back at them all with an expression that says '_hurry up so we can get the hell out of here_'. "We can't just leave them here," she turns back to see Kol pulling at a loose floorboard. "This place is destroyed – they're not even from this time."

Lexi groans and rubs a hand over her face, pulling the pirate hat from her head. "Care—"

"—We called them back," Caroline says and Matt coughs. "Okay, _I_ called them back. I can't just leave them out here on their own."

Katherine and Lexi share a look before Lexi sighs and waves a hand in the air. "Okay Caroline, it's your call. Do what you gotta do."

Caroline nods and takes a breath before walking back into the cottage. Niklaus looks up, his eyebrows rising as she walks towards him.

"Hi," she says, flashing him a smile. "I'm, uh, Caroline." She gives a small wave, looking over Niklaus' shoulder to where Elijah's and Kol's eyes are focused on her, Elijah making to stand behind his brother.

"Hello sweetheart, did thou forget something?"

Caroline almost melts but shakes her head. "Uh, I just…you guys really shouldn't be left out here alone, you know?" Niklaus' eye brows crease together. She looks to Elijah

Elijah frowns and steps forward. "I am afraid I do not understand…"

There's a cheering sound from the corner of the room and the three of them turn to see Kol getting to his feet, a floorboard hitting the ground. He's holding a thick, leather-bound book in his hands and beaming from ear to ear. Elijah gives the first full smile Caroline's seen from him since she woke these strange dead witch boys.

"Excellent." Elijah nods before turning back to Caroline. "Pray tell, why can we not remain here?"

"This place is a mess." Caroline says, signalling around with her hand. "I mean, no offence or anything, but you can't stay here."

Elijah seems to think for a moment before giving Caroline his full attention. "Thou art from this time, yes?" Caroline nods. Elijah narrows his eyes suspiciously at her before looking towards Niklaus. "She could be of help to us. We should trust her."

"I could!" Caroline pipes up with a smile before she quickly furrows her brows. "Um, help you with what?"

Elijah sighs as Kol comes to stand beside him, the book cradled tightly against his chest as he rests his chin on it as a child would with a cuddly toy. "In case thou has not noticed, we are not equipped for this time."

"He's certainly equipped…" Caroline hears Katherine's voice from behind her and turns her head. Katherine's leaning against the door frame, arms folded across her chest and teeth biting on her lower lip as she looks Elijah up and down. She notices Caroline looking at her and shrugs. "What? He is."

Caroline turns her attention back to the brothers, frowning as she tries to figure out what Elijah means when Niklaus lets out a breath. "I do not know brother."

"Listen," Caroline says, holding up a hand. "Come back to my house and we can sort it out there, okay?" she gives Niklaus an encouraging smile. "I can't just leave you guys here."

They both look at Caroline before looking at each other. "Shalt we?" Elijah questions. Niklaus ponders for a moment before turning to Kol who eyes Caroline before nodding. Niklaus nods.

Elijah nods and steps forward, slowly walking to the doorway and peering out. Katherine is stood just outside, eyeing him up and down again. "Forest is still here," he comments and carefully steps out the doorway.

Caroline turns to see Niklaus looking at her, concentration etched on his features. "Are you okay?"

He frowns before nodding. "My powers are not quite right."

"Well," Caroline clears her throat because holy crap, powers? "You've just, uh, woke up…give it some time?"

He nods. "My brothers and I can reside with thou?"

She chokes on her spit and pats her chest, coughing to clear her throat. "Well tonight, sure…we'll figure something out, okay?"

He nods curtly, a small smile playing on his lips as he walks through the door. Caroline hangs back and swallows hard, taking a deep breath before following him out. Even just looking at the back of his head she can feel the pesky butterflies in her stomach again.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, the reviews, the favourites & the follows; it means a whole lot to me! Xo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a warped imagination and a weird sense of humour.**

**A/N: _Thank you so much for you responses on the last chapter, they really made me smile...other than that I've got nothing to say so enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

It takes the better part of an hour to get the Mikaelson brothers through the old forest. Elijah and Niklaus want to stop and look at every tree stump, frowning and muttering amongst themselves whilst Kol walks extremely slowly, peering around every tree as if someone's about to jump out and kidnap him.

Caroline does her best to ignore the 'what the hell looks' Bonnie keeps shooting her and tries to coax Elijah and Niklaus to move a bit quicker. "Come on Elijah, Niklaus, we'll get back to my place and have something to eat, okay?"

Kol looks away from where he's been glaring at the back of Matt's head. "Food?"

Caroline nods. "You hungry?" Kol chews on the inside of his cheek and nods. "Good," Caroline smiles. "My mom makes a mean Spaghetti Bolognese."

"Mean Spug-hetti Bolon-ayes?" Kol frowns.

"No just, Spaghetti Bolognese," Caroline says, grabbing onto Niklaus and Elijah as they make to take off into the trees. "It's Italian."

Kol lifts his eyebrows and turns to look at his brothers with an impressed expression on his face.

Caroline sighs to herself. She knows it's gonna be a _long_ night.

* * *

"Seriously, it's fine, I _swear_." Caroline says, pointing down at the road and jumping up and down to prove a point. "It's just a road!"

"That," Elijah says in a disgusted tone. "That is no road. I see no carriages."

"There are no cobbles or dirt." Niklaus adds.

"This is clearly a trick. The boy is trying to lead us to our deaths!" Kol accuses, glaring at Matt again.

The boys had been calm and complacent as they wandered through the forest, but the second they'd stepped through the rusted gates, their entire demeanour changed. Kol clutched the book even tighter to his chest, Elijah moved the candle closer to his person and Niklaus kept turning in circles every few seconds, ensuring there were no angry villagers with pitch-forks waiting to hang them.

Caroline groans and rubs her face. She can hear Lexi and Katherine chuckling somewhere behind her. She turns round and narrows her eyes at them. "Look," she says, turning back to the boys and bending down, pressing a finger to the road. "It's just tarmac. It can't hurt you."

Kol starts shaking his head, cradling the book together to him. "No."

Niklaus eyes Caroline for the longest time before he sticks the tip of his foot off the sidewalk, pressing it down onto the road. "It appears to be solid. As thou said Elijah, maybe we should trust her."

"Klaus…" Kol says, watching his brother carefully as if the ground is suddenly going to give way. Caroline notes the use of the name _Klaus_ and decides she likes it.

"Thou wishes to do more than trust her." Elijah mutters and finally takes a very slow step onto the road, using his free hand to cover the flickering flame of the candle. Kol however isn't budging. "Come on brother, it is safe."

Kol eyes Elijah as Niklaus starts to walk forward. He edges right to the end of the pavement, slowly placing one foot down and nodding when he discovers he hasn't started sinking into it. He then places the other foot down and starts to walk as if he'd never been sceptical about it.

"Does thou have stables?" Elijah questions, handing the candle to Niklaus before walking slowly towards Caroline, still glancing at the ground now and then as if it's suddenly about to swallow him whole.

"Stables?" Caroline asks. Elijah nods. "Um no, no stables."

"Oh, so thou has an estate then?" Caroline turns and gives the other guys a dirty look as they laugh before she turns back to Elijah. "It doesn't really work like that any more."

"I see."

"Yeah, I live with my mom, in a house…most people just live in houses now. There's a few rooms so you guys will have a place to sleep."

"Ahh," Elijah lets out a breath. "Interesting."

Caroline smiles up at him and nods in the direction of her house. "It's just down that way."

Elijah nods and turns to look at Kol who's taken to glaring at Matt again. "Kol," he states, "the boy is not going to steal the book."

Matt looks horrified as he spins round. "I'm not going to do anything!"

"I can not be too certain." Kol states quickly, catching up with Caroline, Niklaus, Lexi and Elijah.

He starts muttering but Elijah throws out an arm and slaps the other hand over his brothers mouth. "No," he says, "no curses. These people are trying to aid us."

"He was gonna _curse me_?" Matt questions, practically hiding behind Elena as Bonnie hides behind him and Katherine snorts loudly.

Elijah shakes his head as Kol mutters '_Just a little_ _one_'. "My apologies. It will not happen again."

"Unless he gives me cause." Kol mumbles, narrowing his eyes at Matt.

Caroline rolls her eyes then springs forward just as Niklaus is about to drop the candle. "Woah there!" she says, covering the flame with her palms. "Careful there, Klaus."

Niklaus cocks his head to the side, a small smirk spreading across his lips. "Klaus. I like how thou says that."

Caroline looks up and meets his eyes with a small smile, feeling the blush creeping up to her cheeks. She's about to speak when Elijah shoves at their shoulders and points forward. "Quicken the pace!"

* * *

"It'll be fine, I swear." Caroline says at the bottom of her driveway. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Care," Matt says with side eyes and a stern expression. "You except us to leave you alone with three eighteenth century _male witches_ on Halloween when your mom's out of town?"

Caroline gives him a sincere smile and nods. "Yes."

"Okay," Matt breathes, "not gonna happen, what if—" he cuts off as a loud crashing comes from behind Caroline and they all lean around to look.

Elijah's standing there at the bottom of Caroline's porch steps, shaking his head with his lips pursed as Kol tried to scoop up the broken pieces of one of Caroline's mom's garden gnomes, as well as trying to keep the book balanced under one arm. Klaus on the other hand appears to be in a staring completion with one of the larger gnomes on the porch.

"This is a disaster waiting to happen." Matt hisses and Lexi steps forward.

"Calm down Donovan, I'll stay, okay?" she says, patting Matt on the shoulder.

Caroline nods. "See. Lexi will stay."

Matt scows and narrows his eyes at Lexi. "This is all your fault y'know? If you hadn't—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lexi interrupts, shoving Matt into Elena who stumbles into Bonnie who gets caught by Katherine. "We'll call you in the morning."

Matt is still scowling as Elena tugs him in the direction Bonnie is already walking. Katherine bites her tongue and raises her eyebrows, promising to come round tomorrow before she heads off after the trio. Caroline tries to run a hand through her hair but her fingers get stuck. She's just untangled them and turns as she hears Lexi laughing. Kol is glaring in the direction Matt is walking off in, a potted plant floating through the air right behind his head.

"Hey!" Caroline scolds, Kol's attention snapping to her as she approaches. The plant drops with a crash and Matt turns looking horrified before quickly heading off down the street with Katherine laughing manically as she continues to follow. "What's your deal with Matt?"

Kol makes a face. "Pardon?"

Caroline opens her mouth to speak again but stops as Elijah places the head of a garden gnome in her hand.

"I am terribly sorry," he says meekly, "I broke thy little garden man."

Caroline raises an eyebrow. "It's fine."

"I am not sure what horrid curse is upon them," he says, prodding at another gnome. "I did try to awaken them, but it appears that my magic is still too weak. I sincerely apologise I—"

"What?" Caroline laughs and Elijah looks baffled. "Elijah, they're not real, they're made of—" she looks to Lexi. "Uh, what are they made of?"

Lexi rolls her eyes. "They're not real, they're pretend, kind of like dolls, but for decoration."

Elijah tilts his head to the side whilst Kol furrows his brows and makes a weird humming sound.

"How long's your mom out of town?" Lexi whispers as she ushers the boys up the porch steps, blocking Kol as he tries to head towards a frog in the corner of the garden.

"Until Sunday night or Monday morning, depends how things go." Caroline says, digging in her front pocket for her keys. "We'll sort something out before then." She frowns and pulls her hand from her pocket then puts it back in again. "Where the hell are my keys?"

"Aw Care, don't do this." Lexi groans and leans against the porch railing. Thankfully Caroline finds her house keys and holds them up to Lexi's face. Lexi sighs and shoves at Caroline's shoulder. Elijah keeps close behind Caroline, so close that she's a little worried her hair might catch light from the candle he's once again carrying.

Caroline takes a few seconds unlocking the door. When it clicks she pushes it open and her Chihuahua—Diesel—runs at her ankles, yipping and scrambling at her legs. Caroline smiles and bends down to lift him up, but doesn't get a chance too as a bright light suddenly erupts at her feet and Diesel yelps, jumping back as Kol mutters some words that Caroline is pretty sure are Latin.

"Kol, what the hell?!" Caroline cries and moves forward, scooping Diesel up into her arms. He's shaking a little and buries his face into Caroline's costume.

"Tiny Hell Hound!" Kol hisses, eyes wide and one arm outstretched.

"Hey, he's my dog!" Caroline defends, "and what the hell, didn't they have dogs in seventeen—wherever you're from?"

"Dog?" Elijah questions, one eyebrow quirked as he steps over the threshold. "A little small isn't it?"

"Hey! Good things come in little bundles." Caroline says indignantly, petting Diesel and gently kissing the top of his head.

Elijah raises his eyebrows again before he looks around the hallway. "So, this is what a _house_ looks like now." He asks, frowning.

"Yeah, it's not The Hilton, but it's not like it's—"

"Hilton?" Elijah frowns and picks up a framed photograph of Caroline and her dad.

Caroline shakes her head. "Um, never mind." She says and starts walking into the living room, the three boys follow and Lexi picking up the rear. Caroline flicks the light switch and can't help but smirk when the three boys gasp.

"Does thou have powers too?" Kol asks and when Caroline turns to look at him, Klaus is watching her intently.

Caroline laughs and shakes her head. "No," she says and puts Diesel down on the sofa. "It's electricity, it makes things work."

Kol frowns and looks up at the light as if it's about to explode at any second. Elijah on the other hand just shrugs, hands the candle to Klaus and walks towards Diesel, his hand outstretched. The dog sniffs his fingers for a few seconds before walking into his hand and allowing Elijah to pet him. Caroline watches as Elijah's mouth twitches into a slight smile and she can't help but chuckle.

"Ee-lect-ree-cee-tee," Kol says slowly whilst standing on his tip-toes to peer closely at the light before tapping the bulb with his finger and flinching. "Is it a form of magic?"

Caroline thinks for a second before she shrugs. "I guess."

Lexi's already thrown herself down on the sofa and is kicking off her pirate boots. Caroline rolls her eyes and looks at Klaus and Kol when she hears a small rumbling noise. Their eyes widen as they touch their stomachs.

"Hungry?" Caroline smiles and they bite down on their lips before nodding. "Come on," she says and walks into the kitchen.

The boys look around in amazement, Klaus touching various appliances and Kol asking what they are before attempting to pronounce them.

"So," Caroline says, opening cupboards and peering inside. "What kind of stuff do you eat?"

Kol is peering at the microwave and Klaus is stood with a frown on his face. "Does thou have bread?" he asks finally.

Caroline almost laughs, but then remembers, bread probably wasn't as easy to get back in their days. "Yeah sure, white or brown?"

"Pardon?" Klaus asks.

"Yeah," Caroline reaches into the bread bin and grabs two half-loaves. "There's different kinds of bread now." She says, holding up the loaves.

Both boys eyes widen as they step forward to inspect the loaves, staring at the brown one as if it's poisoned. They mutter something to each other before sharing a nod.

"This looks safest." Kol says, taking the white loaf from Caroline's hands, holding it by the edge of the packaging.

Caroline smiles and takes the bread from Kol. "Now you can't just have bread, I'm sure we've got some meat or something—"

"Meat?!" Klaus practically chokes as Kol lets out a gasp, the brothers exchange a look before looking back to Caroline.

"Sorry, do you not eat meat or something? Cause I just thought—"

"No, we eat meat," Kol says, eyes widening. "Is it not expensive?" he steps to the side, looking out the kitchen window. "Does thou have a farm with livestock?"

Caroline blinks in bewilderment, not being able to get her head around just how different the three boys are and coming to the conclusion that she's going to have to explain _every_ _single_ little thing to them.

"Um, no, no farm and no livestock, just sit down okay?" she ushers Klaus and Kol towards the kitchen table, pulling out their chairs and pushing them down with a slight thud and looking on in amusement as Kol taps his fingers against the steel of the chair and Klaus inspects her mobile phone on the table with furrowed brows.

"So you guys like bread?" they both nod.

"And meat?" They nod again.

"Okay, how about a sandwich?"

Kol's face contorts and Klaus looks horrified. "Witches of sand?" Kol asks, backing his chair up until it hits the wall.

"No, no, it's…you put some meat between the bread and it mak—"

"Yes!" Kol shouts, moving his chair back to the table. "Thou can do that?" Caroline can't help but smile.

"Will Elijah want the same?"

"Yes," Klaus says, "we can share."

"What? You guys don't have to share." She turns to face Klaus and Kol who are frowning at her. "You can have one each if you want."

"_One each_?" they both gasp as though Caroline has just said something blasphemous.

"Or more if you want? I mean you've gotta be pretty hungry after nearly three hundred years or whatever." She chuckles.

"More?" Klaus practically splutters, choking slightly.

Caroline stifles a laugh as Klaus looks at her in complete bewilderment. She shakes her head slightly and goes to the fridge, placing the ham and butter down on the counter before looking round at the boys sat at her table. "What do you want to drink?"

"Is thy water clean?" Kol asks, narrowing his eyes at Caroline slightly.

"Yes, filtered."

"Filtered?" Kol questions, raising an eyebrow before looking towards Klaus. "Filtered?" he questions and Klaus shrugs, sharing his brothers confusion.

Caroline shakes her head again, pulling three cans of coke from the fridge and placing them on the counter before making the sandwiches. If Lexi wants something to eat she's more than capable of making something herself, Caroline reasons, pushing away the slight feeling of guilt for not making her one. She places the sandwiches on plates and carries them to the table, placing them in front of the boys and the other in front of the empty chair beside Klaus. She returns and grabs the cans of coke and places them down too before calling Elijah's name.

Seconds later Elijah appears in the doorway, Diesel clutched to his chest and practically purring as Elijah scratches him behind the ears.

"And here's me thinking witches always had cats." Caroline says to herself before chuckling.

Elijah looks at her confused before he stares at the food on the table. "What are _those_?"

"Huh?" Caroline questions before realising what he's talking about. "Oh, they're sandwiches." She smiles.

Elijah's face contorts into a look somewhere between horror and disgust. "_Sand witches_?"

"They are not witches of sand, they are bread and meat!" Kol informs his brother proudly before taking a large bite of his sandwich and humming contently.

Elijah smiles and places Diesel down on the floor before slipping into the spare chair at the table. Diesel trots to Caroline who picks him up. Klaus still hasn't taken a bite of his sandwich and looks sceptically at it whilst Kol practically inhales his. Elijah pokes at the bread, his brows furrowing as his finger makes a hole in it.

"This bread is most peculiar." He pulls his finger from the hole, staring at the butter covering it before he licks it off and hums. He smiles at the taste before picking up the sandwich and taking a bite.

"Hey, where's mine?" Lexi asks and Caroline shoves her in the direction of the fridge before setting Diesel on the floor so he can waddle off to his water bowl.

When Klaus finally takes a bit of his sandwich, Caroline watches intently, a pang of nervousness in her stomach. She doesn't know why, but she _really_ hopes Klaus likes it. It's silly really, it's not as if she's cooked some complicated meal but when Klaus groans slightly she grins.

"Good?" she asks and Klaus nods before trying to stuff more into his mouth. Kol shovels in his last bite, licking off the butter around the edges of his mouth and humming some more. Elijah on the other hand eats slowly, closing his eyes and groaning as he slowly chews. A slight blush creeps onto Caroline's cheeks – she can't help but feel dirty watching them eat and hearing them groan.

Kol swallows before prodding at the can of coke sat in front of him. Caroline shakes the thoughts from her head, steps forward and pops the ring, feeling kind of smart when Kol's eyes widen. She pops the other two cans and steps back, watching as Elijah moves first and brings the can to his lips.

"What is this?" he asks in delight as he sips his soda.

"It's coke," she answers and Kol and Klaus start gulping down their own drinks. "It's like…what?" she looks at Lexi who's found a large bag of Doritos and is currently stuffing handfuls into her mouth "Sugar and other stuff?" Caroline finishes and Lexi shrugs.

Kol places his empty can down before burping loudly, quickly placing his hand over his mouth and looking rather sheepishly as all eyes focus on him. "Excuse me."

Klaus rolls his eyes and places his can down before a hiccup escapes his throat. The squeaky noise and the look of surprise on his face causes Caroline to smile so wide her cheeks start to hurt.

Elijah leans back in his chair, sandwich in one hand and can in the other and sighs contently. "It is good to be back."

* * *

It's been two hours since Caroline brought the boys home and she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. She's had to stop Klaus yelling at and blowing up the Television to free the 'tiny people' trapped inside and try to explain to him that there isn't a person trapped behind the stereo. She's had to practically pin Elijah down him to prevent him from picking all the leaves of her mother's plants, muttering about all the potions he could use them for and she's had to follow Kol around making sure he doesn't stick his fingers in the plug holes, curse the washing machine for 'trying to eat him' and generally touch and curse things he shouldn't.

Lexi, instead of being any help, sat back and laughed, watching as Caroline dashed around trying to stop the three boys from unintentionally trashing her home.

"This time is most peculiar." Elijah says, looking at the candle flickering away in the corner. "Everything is so different, yet it all makes perfect sense."

"Well," Caroline says, watching as Klaus circles the TV like a lion ready to pounce. "It's been almost three hundred years, things are bound to be different."

Elijah nods and stretches. Caroline feels stupid as she steps back slightly, partly concerned that his powers may just 'go off', but mostly because the guy _stinks_.

"Um, do you guys want a shower or something?" she asks, resisting the urge to hold her nose and instantly feeling guilty for practically telling them they smell bad.

"Shower?" Kol asks, sitting in front of the television, one had pressed against it. He looks a little scared at whatever Caroline's suggesting. Klaus on the other hand is still circling, his eyes narrowed at the screen. Caroline tried to explain that the people weren't actually in there, she really did, but Klaus was having none of it. If he could see them, they were real and they needed to be freed.

Elijah shrugs and gets to his feet. "Sand witches, coke, tella-visions and tiny dogs." He pets Diesel on the head. "Lead the way to this shower thing."

* * *

**A/N: _I know there wasn't much Klaroline in this chapter, but there's plenty to come in the next one! Thanks so much for reading, following, the favourites and reviewing, it really does make my day knowing you're enjoying this! xo_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a warped imagination and a weird sense of humour.**

**A/N: Sorry this update is ridiculously late, I've had some form of plague (slight exaggeration) and haven't had the energy to write. Anyhoo, this isn't my finest work, but enjoy!**

_**Carrot Killer: "Is Rebekah going to be in it?" Not exactly. She won't be appearing in the 'now', but she will be present in the flashbacks when the boys are telling the story of their life and death.**_

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Getting Elijah into the shower was no problem. He'd gone in quite happily and spent almost an hour in there under the spray. He'd come out and sat on the sofa next to Lexi, listening intently whilst she told him about the current president, music, food, dogs and anything else he wanted to know. He was dressed in a pair of Caroline's mom's boyfriends sweats that looked rather strange on him, but Elijah had quite happily taken them, thanking Caroline numerous times.

Klaus was a little sceptical.

"Is it necessary?" Klaus asks, watching the spray with unease. "Can I not just bathe?"

Caroline fixes him with a look. "The tub's off limits until it's sealed properly and if I'm gonna convince my mom to let you stay longer, you've got to wash."

Klaus grumbles but nods. He steps into the bathroom fully and starts to pull off his shirt. Caroline can't look away as her eyes rake over his slightly dusty skin that she _really_ just wants to drag her nails over. As Klaus starts to pull at the laces of his pants, Caroline gulps loudly and looks away, but not before she catches a glimpse of the slight smirk on his face.

She swallows hard and closes the door and her eyes, pressing her back up against the wood and sighing to herself. _Get a grip Caroline_. Her eyes dart open when a humming noise enters the atmosphere, letting her know she's not alone. Lexi's standing there, a bemused smile on her face.

"What?"

"Seriously, Care?"

"Again I repeat, what?"

"You've been here seven months, you haven't even had the tiniest crush on anyone, but suddenly a dead witch boy pops up and you're all gooey-eyed and mushy tummied?"

"I am not." She states with a pout.

"You just keep telling yourself that." Lexi smirks before heading back downstairs.

Caroline lets out a breath and heads into her room, grabbing another pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. She bundles them up in her arms before pausing outside the bathroom door, trying to figure out exactly how to approach the situation.

She opts for stealth. Taking in a deep breath she pushes the door partly open and peers into the foggy bathroom. Her mouth drops open and her eyes widen as she takes in the sight of Klaus under the spray, his pale skin dripping wet and his lean muscles clenching with every movement.

He turns his head slightly and she quickly closes her eyes and looks away, holding the clothes through the gap. "Here's some clothes for you to um—change into when you're done." She doesn't wait for a reply, just drops them to the floor and shuts the door quickly. She spins round, nearly screaming in shock to see Lexi standing at the top of the stairs, a huge grin on her face.

"I totally knew it."

Kol on the other hand is an entirely different story. Caroline practically has to drag him into the bathroom and watches him step back in horror as she turns on the spray. She pushes him lightly towards the shower but he quickly stops, turning to look at her with pleading eyes.

"Is there no river? I could bathe in a river."

"No river."

"A lake?"

"Nope."

"A pond? There's one in thy garden!"

Caroline shakes her head.

"Large puddle?" he asks, sounding almost hopeful.

"Kol, you need to shower. It's not going to hurt you." She steps forward and places her hand under the spray. "See, it's fine."

"Here," Lexi says, walking into the bathroom and gently ushering Kol forward. Caroline hadn't even heard her come upstairs. She takes hold of his hand, leading it forward and holding it beneath the spray. "See, it's nice right?"

Kol's eyes trace from her hand around his, up their touching arms and to Lexi who's standing right beside him, a devilish smirk appears on his face. "Would thou care to join me in this showering?"

Lexi chuckles. "Nice try. Maybe when I've known you a little longer and you're not smelling like a sewer." She lightly shoves Kol away and he looks up at her through his lashes, removing his shirt and grinning as her eyes widen. Lexi coughs quickly, glancing one last time at Kol's topless form before darting from the bathroom, Caroline following closely behind.

"Now who's all gooey-eyed and mushy tummied?"

"Shut up Forbes." She states, heading for the stairs. "And for the record, what I'm feeling not is far from gooey and doesn't involve my stomach. Tingling and on fire covers it best."

"You should get that checked out."

"Funny Care, very funny."

When Kol is finished and is getting dried and dressed in her room, Caroline goes into the bathroom to shut off the shower and clear up. She finds puddles all over the floor and the sink filled with hers and her mom's shampoos, conditions and lotions. "Hey!" she calls, knowing Kol can hear. "This is a sink, not a cauldron!"

Elijah is soon asleep on the couch with Diesel curled up on his lap. Caroline fed him another four sandwiches, let him try four different types of potato chips, three types of chocolate, two different sodas and attempted to explain what a milkshake was.

"I do not understand how a cow can produce this." He'd stated, peering into the glass before taking another gulp and humming contently. She'd actually been kind of worried that he'd make himself sick from the amount of food and drinks.

Caroline glances over to Lexi who's nodding off in the chair and rolls her eyes. She's been no help whatsoever. Whilst Caroline was running around trying to prevent her house from being blown up, Lexi was sat laughing and encouraging them to act out.

**~*~Flashback~*~**

"Did you know there's a Demon living in there? Sometimes, you can hear him growling." She'd informed Klaus and Kol, pointing towards the cupboard door where the boiler was located. The boys had narrowed their eyes and charged at the door, yanking it open before muttering curses at the boiler inside.

"Guys, there's no Demon!" Caroline had insisted as the boiler started to shake violently. "Lexi, make them stop!"

"I jest, jest!" Lexi had called in an over the top British accent. "There is no Demon, it is but a heating contraption!" Surprisingly the boys had actually listened but continued to cast suspicious glances in the direction of the cupboard.

Lexi pointed towards the microwave as her burger spun round inside. "Did you know if you lay someone down and put their head inside and turn it on long enough, their head will explode."

The boys had gasped loudly and Klaus had looked fascinated as he tapped the top of the metal. "A device to induce torture." He smiled in a way that worried Caroline as he ran his hand over the metal, practically stroking it.

**~*~End of Flashback*~***

Caroline heads up to her room and starts to pull her covers and pillows from the bed, intending on setting up some form of camp in the living room. She's attempting to gather up all the items when Klaus appears in the doorway. His hair is dripping wet against the white shirt Caroline's given him and the sweat pants are practically hanging off him.

The bruise around Klaus' neck looks painful and Caroline has to fight the urge to lean forward and stroke it. She shakes the thoughts from her head and clears her throat. "So, are you feeling better?"

Klaus nods curly. "Yes, much so, thank you." Caroline chuckles a little and Klaus frowns. "Thou keeps laughing at us, why is that?"

Caroline can't help but smile as he tilts his head on the side slightly. "You're all so polite and formal. It's cute."

A small smile plays at the corner of his lips. "Thou thinks I'm cute?"

Caroline can feel her cheeks heating up but she just shrugs.

They stand in silence for a few moments before Klaus signals to the covers in her arms. "What is thou doing?"

Caroline looks down at the mess of blankets and pillows. "Oh, I was gonna um take them to the living room. You know, so we could all camp out."

Klaus opens his mouth to speak but Elijah appears in the doorway. "Is that…a bed?"

Caroline looks at her bed. She's had it for years, it's nothing really special. Well to her anyway. "Uh, yeah."

Elijah looks at it with interest, touching the mattress slightly. "May I…?"

Caroline almost chokes but nods all the same. "Uh, sure?"

Elijah smiles and sits down on the edge of the mattress before sitting back slowly. He sighs contently and jumps slightly. "Caroline," he waves his arms around as if making a snow angel. "This is positively delightful." He grins widely before remembering that he's being watched. He sits up and clears his throat. "I thank thee." He nods curtly before leaving the room.

Once Elijah is gone Klaus looks to Caroline before signalling to the bed. "Would thou mind if I-?"

"Not at all, go for it."

Klaus smiles slightly before sitting slowly on the bed. He bounces a few times before swinging his feet round and lying down fully. He gives a contented sigh and closes his eyes briefly before looking to Caroline. Her breath gets caught in her throat as he looks at her through his lashes before patting the bed beside him.

Caroline swallows hard before sitting down and laying next to Klaus. As he smiles at her she can feel her stomach doing somersaults. It's been barely five hours since she met this strange witch boy, but she has to admit Lexi was right. Seven months and she'd barely blinked twice at the same person and Klaus crawls from Hell—or where he was—and she suddenly just wants too—

"I too thank thee," Klaus says and Caroline turns to see him watching her.

"Huh?" she blinks a few times, her brows furrowing slightly. She can't help but wonder if he can read her thoughts.

Klaus shuffles a little on the bed, turning his head to face her. "Elijah will forever thank thee, but Kol will forget his manners, but we appreciate for everything thou has done for us…considering what we are."

Caroline frowns again. "What? Why wouldn't—"

"Caroline," Klaus breaths and ducks his head in a way that makes a lump form in Caroline's throat. "Thou could have alerted the town to our presence and had us burnt at the stake, but thou did not…thou—"

"Klaus," Caroline giggles and she can't help but grin at the strange boy in her bed. "You wouldn't get burnt at the stake, _I promise_. Those kind of things just don't happen…not anymore."

"Really?" Klaus asks, a little apprehensively.

"Really. It's the twenty-first century. If you went around claiming to have magic powers people would just think you were crazy or something and just laugh at you."

Klaus frowns as he watches Caroline. "But the witch hunts were—"

"Look," Caroline says, as she places her hand gently on Klaus, the same way her mom did when she used to promise Caroline that there were no monsters in her closet. "There are no witch hunts anymore and no witch craft."

Klaus purses his lips and shuffles a little against the pillows. "This is all so strange."

"I know," Caroline says and she watches him for a minute or so.

She can't help but think just how good-looking actually is. His hair is all wet and tangled and it falls against his pale skin. Her eyes settle on the ugly bruise and his neck and she swallows a little.

"Where were you?" she asks, still staring at his neck.

"Pardon?" Klaus says, looking at Caroline with confusion.

"Like before this, before I lit the candle. Where were you?"

Klaus screws his mouth a little and thinks. He's silent for what feels like an eternity and Caroline's just about to tell him that it's fine, she doesn't need him to tell her, when Klaus finally speaks.

"I am not sure," he says and runs a hand through his hair, tugging at some of the knotted curls. "I can not remember. I remember saying goodbye to mother, Elijah and Kol, then it just went…dark." He shrugs, but Caroline can tell he's bothered about it as his brows furrow. "I do not. I am not sure. I feel as though I have been asleep for a very long time."

Caroline nods, but can't really grasp how he must be feeling, how they all would be feeling. Being dead, then coming back, it's a bit too much to get her head around. "So you weren't in Hell or something?"

Klaus frowns again. "I do not think so." He chews on his bottom lip and looks down before looking up to meet her eyes. "No, I do not believe we were."

"Oh," Caroline says quietly and she's not sure why, but she feeling a little better about that. The idea that these boys had been burning and suffering in Hell was too much for her to think about…if that's what Hell was actually like that is. "I guess the Legends were all wrong then."

Klaus sighs and shrugs before turning on his side to face her. "What is it that they say?"

"Well," Caroline starts, wriggling down into the mattress and turning her head to face him. "I don't really know, I haven't lived here that long, but apparently you were hanged for witchcraft. Like someone in the village caught one of you coercing with the Devil or had the Devil on your soldier, something like that even though I don't really know what that means."

"The Devil?" Klaus gasps in a disgusted tone.

Caroline shrugs. "I don't know, I only heard the whole story a few hours ago."

"We did not know the Devil." Klaus says and shakes his head so he splashes Caroline with drops of water from his hair. "Mother hated him, he was not very nice."

Caroline almost chokes as she raises her eyebrows and asks, "Did she meet him?"

Klaus nods and his brows furrow. He doesn't look pleased. "Just once. She told us that he was not a nice creature and that she would have rather spent an eternity talking to her toads than spend another second in his presence."

Caroline chuckles slightly. "She sounds amazing."

A small smile tugs at the corners of Klaus mouth, "She is," his smile quickly falters and he frowns. "She _was_, I suppose. She did not return."

Caroline stops smiling for what feels like the first time that night. "Yeah…I'm sorry about that. Why," the words get caught and she clears her throat. "Why didn't she come back?"

Klaus shrugs. "She tired of this place. She said she is happy where she is." He picks at the tie of the sweatpants he's wearing. "She knows Elijah, Kol and I will look after one another."

"And me," Caroline pipes up with a nod and when Klaus looks up at her she can feel heat rising in her cheeks. "I mean I'll be here. You know, if you need me."

Klaus tilts his head and just stares at Caroline for a few seconds. "Thou are very gracious, Caroline."

Caroline shrugs and stares down at her socks. "It's my fault you're here, it's the least I can do."

"I am glad thou lit the candle," Klaus says quietly. "It is nice to be awake again."

Caroline nods in agreement. She'd never noticed before because she'd become accustomed to it, but having Klaus around was awakening feelings she hadn't felt since moving here. The butterflies in her stomach were doing a victory dance and she couldn't help wonder about the possibilities of having a relationship with him. After all, he and his brothers weren't going anywhere—well not if she could help it. As she lay beside him she made a mental note to find somewhere safe to put the candle, the last thing she wanted was the damn flame accidentally going out and sending them back to wherever they'd come from.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, the reviews, the favourites & the follows; it means a whole lot to me! Xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a warped imagination and a weird sense of humour.**

**A/N: Well this is ridiculously late, Christmas shopping got in the way and all that jazz. Anyhoo, this one contains a flashback (these will be happening quite a bit over this story). Anyway, hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

They lay in silence for a while, not really looking at each other. Caroline can hear snores filtering from downstairs and she knows Lexi has fallen asleep. She looks at the clock on her bedside table and it's almost five AM. She has nearly 2 days to come up with a story to convince her mom into letting her new friends from out of town stay for a while, or find a place for them to stay. Either that or she wonders if Klaus could hypnotise her mom or something.

Caroline comes back from her thoughts and looks to see Klaus rubbing his throat, a pained expression on his face.

"Does it hurt?" she asks quietly, turning on her side to face him.

He looks at her and gives a nod, swallowing thickly. "A little, not too much."

Caroline sucks her bottom lip into her mouth for a few seconds as she thinks. Screw it. She reaches out and touches her fingertips lightly to the bruised skin. Klaus doesn't stop her, instead he leans slightly closer, sucking in a deep breath as her fingers trace the skin.

"Why did they do it?" she asks in a small voice. "If you weren't evil."

Klaus sighs and Caroline pulls her hand away, her fingers suddenly feel cold and she folds her arms across her chest, tucking her hands tight under her armpits.

"Kol and I were both besotted and unknowingly courting the same girl from the village in secret." Klaus says, hanging his head. "When we learnt of each other's involvement she attempted to turn us against each other. Her attempts were futile and we cast her aside – family above all. She told her father we had cast a spell on her, made her believe that she was in love with us."

"Crap," Caroline hisses and Klaus gives her a strange look before he continues.

"They marched into the forest—"

"—Like an angry mob?"

Klaus nods but doesn't mention her interruption. "They got Kol first, our mother tried to trade herself for us, alas it was all in vain. They captured her and then they got Elijah. I pleaded with them to trade my life for theirs, to just take me, but they took us all."

**~Flashback~**

"Mother!" Kol's pained screams echoed loudly from the yard. Every muscle in Klaus' body tightened, a sickening feeling hitting the pit of his stomach. Something was extremely wrong. "Please, mother, help me!"

Esther dashed to the door, throwing it open to see her youngest son on the floor, howling in pain, tears streaming down his face. A band of people surrounded him, armed with sticks and pitchforks, hitting him repeatedly as she tried to stand. "Stay down, Demon!" the leader of the rabble shouted, hitting him directly in the face with the base of his gun. Kol fell forward, blood from his nose spraying and mouth spraying the ground as he coughed and spluttered.

Her heart hurt, like someone had reached right into her chest, grabbed hold of it and squeezed as hard as they could. Her breath got caught in her throat before anger bubbled inside her. She could feel it surging through her veins. No one hurt her family and got away with it. They were Mikaelson's, they would not go down without a fight.

As Esther's eyes focused on the men and her son, the candles in the house blazed up, the skies above the forest rumbled and the wind picked up, blowing the fallen leaves around. The men stopped their beating, looking up at the skies as Kol tried once more to stand but fell weakly to the ground. He looked up towards his mother, his face stained with tears, dirt and blood, his eyes tired. "Mother," he called, his voice barely a whisper over the noise from the sky. The rumbling got louder and the men looked towards Esther as her eyes flashed dark. "Get her, get the witch!"

Klaus watched as a number of the men started towards the house whilst the others surrounded Kol, two of them dragging him across the yard and towards four nooses hanging from the largest tree, a wooden platform beneath. Klaus gulped as their fate became known to him. They were all going to die.

The rumbling stopped, and the leaves died down as a scream pulled Klaus from his thoughts. He looked out the window to see his mother being hit by the crowd. She turned, her face bruised and looked directly into his eyes. "Save yourselves!" she screamed, pulling at the men as they made their way towards the closed door. Klaus couldn't even remember it closing. "Please, leave my children, take me!" He watched as the men easily overpowered his mother, dragging her to where Kol was slumped up against the tree.

He jumped as a hand lay on his shoulder. He turned to see Elijah looking at him, his face as composed as ever. "Hide, do not come out until it safe." Klaus opened his mouth to speak but Elijah shoved him towards the secret hatch in the corner of the room before rushing to the door, pressing his back against it. The room was filled with thuds and shouts as Elijah lurched forward, quickly returning to press his back against the door. His feet skidded across the floor as he pushed hard against the door. He was fighting a losing battle. "Niklaus, run!" he shouted, fighting against the hands that grabbed at him through the gap in the door. Klaus turned, growing cold at the horrified look in Elijah's eyes.

Elijah never showed fear. In all his life Elijah had never showed much emotion, he was always extremely composed. Even when they had lost members of their family he had not once broken down, well not in front of others. "I have to be strong for this family." He'd used those words when their sister was taken. Their mother had been as mess so Elijah had taken control. If it had not been for him, they would all be dead. However, it seemed as though all his efforts back then had been for nothing, they were going to meet an untimely end anyway.

He turned, his heart beating wildly. His mind was blank, he could not even remember where the hatch was. He spun again as the door was forced open and Elijah was hit in the face, falling to the ground as the men kicked at him when he tried to stand. Klaus froze, watching helplessly as Elijah fought against the men, hitting a few of them in the face before they knocked him unconscious, dragging his body through the door to join the rest of his family. It was his turn now. Klaus backed up against the wall as the men came forward, the leader of the gang pointing his gun at him. "You defiled my daughter, demon, now thou shall pay with thy life and that of thy family."

He glanced to the window where his mother was knelt on the ground, her hands on Kol and Elijah, silently healing them. He stood up tall, rolling back his shoulders, if he was going to die, he was going to do it was dignity. "Yes it was I. Let my family go and take me. I am the one you seek."

"Do not speak!" the man shouted, the base of his gun connecting with stomach. He doubled over and the men grabbed him, dragging him out the join the rest of his family. "Detach her arm!" the leader shouted, pointing at Esther who had healed her sons wounds. Two men stepped forward, one holding her as the other grabbed her right arm. Her screams filled the night air as they yanked her arm from its socket with a loud pop. The look of pain in his mothers features, the sound of her screams and the looks of pure terror on his brothers faces was more than Klaus could bear.

He threw himself down at the man's feet. "I am sorry, please let them be, take me, it was I, it was I!" he felt ashamed, he was never one to beg or show any form of weakness, but when it came to his family, he was willing to do anything to protect them.

"Niklaus," his mothers quiet voice pulled him from his pleading. He raised his eyes to see her. "Do not beg them, they are not worthy of it. It is time for fate to take over."

He nodded and sat back before being pulled to his feet along with the rest of his family. They were led up the steps, Kol first, himself, Elijah and then their mother. The men attached the nooses around their necks, pulling them before stepping down from the stand. Klaus looked at the crowd, the faces he recognised from the village, one in particular standing out,_ her_. Constance's face between her mother and father. He glared up at them, his arm around Constance as she quickly glanced up at them before turning her gaze back to the ground.

Klaus focused on her, using his powers to read her mind. She regretted it. She hadn't wanted it to go this far. She'd wanted them to receive a beating to ease her broken heart, but she hadn't wanted this. She had underestimated her father's reaction to her tale. She still loved them and didn't want them to die. Klaus would have felt pity for her, but it was too late. They were going to die for crimes they did not commit and it was all _her_ fault.

"Be strong my children, show them no fear. Death for us is just the beginning." His mothers soothing voice graced the atmosphere as she held her head high and looked out at the crowd. Her mouth moved slightly as she said silent words over. Klaus wondered what she was saying, but his attention went to his brothers.

He watched as the fear in Kol's eyes suddenly vanished with a gulp, his signature mischievous smirk appearing on his face. Elijah stood tall, his chin raised, his face expressionless once more. Klaus did the same, he did not fear death, but he would miss his family.

"Does thou have any last words?" the man questioned towards Esther, but she shook her head.

"I do," Kol piped up, his head held high and a look of determination in his eyes. He looked down to their former lover as she stepped partly behind her father, her eyes wide as she looked up at him. "I will see thou in Hell, darling." He winked, her father's jaw tightening as he nodded towards the executioner. Klaus stared off into the distance, focusing on the treetops in front of him. He wouldn't look them in the eye, they would not be the last thing he saw of the world - they weren't worthy of that. The last thing Klaus heard was Kol's manic laughter followed by a sickening crack before everything went black.

**~End of Flashback~**

Caroline can feel the tears burning behind her eyes, imagining just how scared they must have been, how it must have felt to see your siblings and mother get taken away to be hanged. The feeling of terror as you tried to trade your own life for theirs and the feeling of hopelessness when you realised it was futile and you were all going to die.

"They sentenced us to death in our own yard. There was no such thing as a fair trial for people like us."

"You all died because some girl made up a story? that's so unfair." Her voice breaks slightly and she swallows down a sob that threatens to come out. _The last thing he wants is you crying like a baby_, the voice in her head tells her.

"Constance was not all that loyal or virtuous, despite her father being a nobleman."

Caroline raises an eyebrow. "You corrupted nobility? Nice." She tries to make light of the tale, but she can still feel the tears behind her eyes and a hatred for Constance.

"At first she used myself and Kol for our powers. She liked that I was stronger, but Kol made things fun."

"You must hate her."

Klaus shakes his head slightly. "Not any more. I did at first. Her lies and jealously over our family bond was what led to our death. I have had a long time to think about it, now I just pity her. The guilt of our unfair deaths will have lay heavy on her throughout her life. She will have suffered for what she did."

Caroline frowns a little. She doesn't understand how he could ever _not_ hate her. If she had been in his position she'd have spent the rest of eternity hating the guy and plotting some form of revenge. She's fairly certain she'd act like Kol and take out her anger on the guys descendent if she'd have been brought back.

When Caroline looks up after a while Klaus is staring at her with his forehead creased.

"What's wrong?" she asks, voice filled with concern.

He doesn't say anything for a few seconds. He then sighs, "I am not sure if my powers are broken, they are still weak, or if there is something wrong with thee."

Caroline almost chokes on air. "Excuse me?"

"I can not read thee." Klaus says.

"You can't…read me?" Caroline asks because what the hell is this, Twilight? She was under the impression it was a witch she was lying next to and not some goddamn Vampire.

"No," Klaus frowns. "I can read thy friend Lexi, I can read Kol and Elijah, but not thou. Why is that?" Caroline raises an eyebrow and Klaus dips his head slightly before shaking it slightly. "I am sorry, I should not have mentioned it."

"No," Caroline smiles. "It's fine, maybe I'm just weird." _Yeah, weird like Bella Swan_ an annoying voice in her head mocks.

"Hmm," Klaus hums. "Perhaps there is a protection on you."

"Protection?"

"Yes, perhaps there is a witch or warlock in your family protecting you?"

Caroline scoffs. "With my ability to trip over air and the way things have gone in my life, it's not very likely."

"Perhaps in another age?"

Caroline shrugs. She guesses it's possible. Bonnie has always been into that sort of thing, legends, witches, druids, anything to do with magic and Bonnie was all over it. She even recalls Bonnie mentioning that she had descendent from Salem or something. Up until now though she'd never believed in magic, but now she's lying next to a—

"What kind of magic can you do?" she asks suddenly, because shit she's lying next to a _witch_.

Klaus gets a wicked grin on his face as though he's been waiting for Caroline to ask him this very question the whole night. He doesn't say anything, but sits up a little and closes his eyes. Caroline sits up, her back against the headboard as Klaus gets comfortable.

They're silent and Caroline watches Klaus with a bemused look because nothing's happening, the room is just as it always was. Caroline's about to tell Klaus it's fine, to forget about it, when suddenly she feels like she's got goosebumps. She looks at Klaus and he seems to be…he's freaking glowing, just a little, but he's definitely glowing.

Caroline opens her mouth to say…she doesn't actually know what, but all of a suddenly the air looks like it's sparkling, like the contents of a snow globe or something.

Caroline gets to her feet on the bed and pads forward two steps. The air is definitely glittering, she can actually feel it, like tiny sparks on her skin, but it doesn't hurt, it's like really light rain or something, she doesn't know, she doesn't have a clue what's happening, but it feels so nice against her skin, like she just wants to rip the dress off and let the air dance on her skin.

Screw it. She's _going_ to do it, she's going to just take all her clothes off, even her _socks_ because this feels great, this is the best thing she's ever—

"Caroline!"

Caroline looks down and Klaus is at her feet, one hand wrapped around her wrist. Caroline blinks then realises she's ripped the shoulder of her dress and is in the process of trying to pull the whole thing down.

"Woah." She says, eyes wide and falls to her knees, pulling up the dress and making to run a hand through her hair, only for her fingers to get tangled in it. "What _was_ that?" she questions, untangling her hand and breathing harshly.

Klaus smirks in amusement and shakes his head slightly. "Sorry, I was just—"

"_Dazzling me_?" and crap, this _is_ freaking Twilight, isn't it?

Klaus chuckles and shakes his head once more. "It just feels nice, yes?"

Caroline nods. "Yeah it does." She looks up and Klaus is still smirking at her.

"Sorry," Klaus says. "I was not attempting to trick thee into removing thy clothing."

Caroline laughs and the words fly from her mouth before she can stop them. "You probably wouldn't need to anyway." Her eyes widen and her hand flies to her mouth as the smile on Klaus face drops and he looks at her with a curious expression.

_Great_, just great Caroline, make the hot witch boy think you're just another Constance. She can feel her cheeks heat up as everything goes quiet and Klaus continues to stare at her. Why oh why does she let her mouth speak without consulting her brain. As Klaus continues to stare she wishes she had the power to turn back time or at least erase her foot-in-mouth slip from his memory.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, the reviews, the favourites & the follows, it means the absolute world to me! xo**


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